After Earth tops UK box office on debut

Poor reviews weren’t enough to prevent After Earth topping the UK box office on debut, preventing The Hangover Part III from a third consecutive week as the UK’s number one.

Sony’s first release since Django Unchained in January scored a sturdy $3.5m (£2.25m) opening to comfortably secure top spot.

That marks director M. Night Shyamalan’s third best UK debut, behind Signs ($5.8m/£3.8m) and The Village ($4.6m/£2.9m).

It is worth noting that The Sixth Sense received a limited release originally, on route to becoming the director’s best-ever UK performance at a storming $39.4m (£25.4m).

Compared to the year’s other notable original sci-fi effort, After Earth achieved a lower debut than Oblivion’s $7.6m (£4.95m) debut, which included $2.4m (£1.6m) in previews.

WARNER BROS

Despite falling to second, The Hangover Part III still enjoyed a healthy third weekend, crossing £16m in the process.

Warner Bros.’ prequel laughed its way to a further $1.8m (£1.1m) to climb to $25.1m (£16.2m), edging closer to The Hangover’s $33.4m (£22.1m) UK result.

Having added just shy of £3m this past week, the comedy will need to showcase similar resolve if it hopes to avoid becoming the series’ lowest grosser.

Also for Warner Bros, The Great Gatsby endured its first steep drop in its fourth weekend as it added $1m (£657,613) for $21.1m (£13.6m).

While it’s unlikely to top Moulin Rouge!’s $27.3m (£17.9m), it’s still a decent performance given the strong blockbuster competition it’s faced in its run.

UNIVERSAL

Falling 59% in its fourth weekend, Universal’s Fast & Furious 6 has now crossed the £23m mark.

The sixth instalment in the evergreen franchise grossed a further $1.3m (£845,000) for an outstanding $36.1m (£23.3m) to date, extending its lead as the series’ strongest UK performer.

Also for Universal, micro-budget horror The Purge scared up an additional $840,000 (£541,000) and has now taken $3.5m (£2.2m) after ten days in play.

FOX

Following its prosperous half term performance, Fox’s Epic dropped 63% in its third weekend, taking $1m (£660,712).

The latest 3D animation from Blue Sky Studios is now up to $17.4m (£11.2m) and faces a tough battle to overtake Blue Sky’s previous original effort, Rio, which took $20.7m (£13.6m).

PARAMOUNT

Sci-fi sequel Star Trek Into Darkness is closing in on £25m in the UK as it added $956,000 (£616,036) through Paramount for $37.8m (£24.3m) to date.

eOne

Achieving the second best site average behind After Earth, Steven Soderbergh’s swansong Behind The Candelabra got off to a storming start in the UK through eOne.

The Liberace biopic debuted to an excellent $797,000 (£512,604) from 131 sites, resulting in a $6,084 (£3,913) average, and is set to expand from Friday. Given its strong start, midweek returns could see it pushing £1m before then.

Meanwhile, Populaire is up to $331,000 (£213,045) after ten days in play.

PICTUREHOUSE

Thanks to its premiere event, Picturehouse’s music documentary The Stone Roses: Made of Stone achieved a $570,000 (£367,320) opening to see it chart ninth.

Opening in 88 sites on June 5, its five-day opening weekend accounted for $182,000 (£117,293) of that total debut.

LIONSGATE

Released in 220 sites, Lionsgate’s The Iceman debuted with $313,000 (£202,000) to chart tenth.

A based on real life crime drama about a serial killer was always going to be a tough sell, and so it seems to have been proved with a $1,424 (£918) average. Midweek older audiences could be the film’s saviour though.

Also for Lionsgate, comedy The Big Wedding fell dramatically in its second weekend, taking just $144,000 (£93,000) for $1.5m (£981,000).

DISNEY

Nearer the end of its UK run, Disney’s Iron Man 3 has now amassed $56.9m (£36.7m) after a $239,000 (£154,042) weekend, while Oz the Great and Powerful has taken $23.7m (£15.3m) to date.

STUDIOCANAL

StudioCanal opened horror sequel The Last Exorcism Part II in 214 sites, resulting in a meek debut of $180,000 (£115,811). That result is markedly down on its predecessor’s $1.7m (£1.1m) debut which saw it land top of the chart, before going on to make $5.7m (£3.7m).

Also for StudioCanal, Neil Jordan’s latest Byzantium is up to $329,000 (£211,732).

This week’s only saturation release is Warner Bros’ Superman reboot Man of Steel. Metrodome’s Summer in February, Koch Media’s Stuck in Love and Universal’s Admission receive a wide release, while Kaleidoscope’s Much Ado About Nothing and Soda’s Paradise: Love are among the films receiving a limited release.